Method and device for dividing wire rod

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for cutting wire rod which has been laid in loops on a moving conveyor wherein a portion of wire rod between two loops is made accessible for cutting by moving some of the loops out of the plane of the conveyor.

United States Patent [72} Inventors BerzGerhard;

Klaus Kuppen, both of Dusseldorf, Germany [21] Appl. No 816,284

[22] Filed Apr. 15, 1969 [45] Patented June 22, 1971 [73] Assignee Schloemann Aktiengesellschait Dusseldorf, Germany [32] Priority Apr. 18, 1968 [3 3] Germany [54] METHOD AND DEVICE FOR DIVIDING WIRE ROD 8 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 83/18, 83/175, 83/907 [5 1] Int. Cl 826d 7/00 [50] Field ofSearch 83/18, 175, 102, 907; 140/2; 242/79, 80, 83

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,176,385 4/1965 Morgan et a1 29/417 Primary Examiner-James M. Meister Attorney-Holman and Stern ABSTRACT: A method and apparatus for cutting wire rod which has been laid in loops on a moving conveyor wherein a portion of wire rod between two loops is made accessible for cutting by moving some of the loops out of the plane of the conveyor.

PATENTED JUN22 197i SHEET 1 OF 2 INVENTOR. GERHARD BRZ ET AL.

BY MM...

PATE NTEflJuu'zzlan 3585,88?

SHEET 2 OF 2 INVENTOR. QERHARD BERZ ET AL METHOD AND DEVICE FOR DlVlDlNG WIRE ROD This invention relates to a method and device for cutting wire rod which is arranged in a series of loops and located on a conveyor system. The loops of wire rod are formed from wire rod while it is still at the rolling temperature by a reeler, and are allowed to fall onto a moving conveyor system. The series of loops of wire rod then extend in the direction of travel of the conveyor and lie on the conveyor so as to overlap one another to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the speed of the conveyor. This can help to ensure that the wire rod is cooled uniformly. At the delivery end of the conveyor, the loops of wire rod are passed to a location for gathering where they are gathered to form coils of wire rod.

If the wire rod, which is still at or near rolling temperature and has been formed into loops by the reeler, has not already been cut at various points before entering the reeler, either owing to the limited weight of the billets used for rolling or to the actuation of a shear located before the reeler, it is customary to cut the wire rod immediately after it leaves the reeler, ie between the reeler and the conveyor, or immediately before the gathering device, i.e. between the conveyor and the gathering device, in certain lengths depending upon the weight of coil desired. Considerable difficulties are involved in separating the loops of the wire rod at each point at which it is to be cut and producing a gap on the conveyor between the series of loops of wire rod formed by cutting.

To produce such a gap on the conveyor the end of a series of loops are collected between the reeler and the conveyor or between the conveyor and the gatherer until the required gap has been formed, after which operation the rings of wire rod drop onto the conveyor or into the gatherer in a pile rather than singly. It can be disadvantageous to collect the loops of wire rod between the reeler and the conveyor since the loops of wire rod which are piled up to cool, lose heat at a different rate from those which overlap one another singly on the conveyor and this is detrimental to the uniformity of structure of the wire rod whichis desired. When the loops are collected between the conveyor and the gatherer the piled-up loops of wire rod which drop into the gatherer can no longer be gathered together to form a coil of a particularly advantageous cross-sectional shape, such as the rosette shape which is advantageous form the point of view of the transport and storage of the coils. To achieve this shape the loops of wire rod have to be guided or pushed individually into a predetermined position and for reasons connected with the design of the plant their position can only be changed if there is a minimum distance between the individual loops of wire rod.

The aim of the invention is to ensure that at each cut in the wire rod, the loop of wire rod upstream of the cut is separated from the following loop sufficiently to allow the gatherer to function satisfactorily, without causing any nonuniformity of structure in the loop of wire rod.

The aim of the invention may at least in part be achieved in a method of cutting wire rod which has been laid in loops com prising conveying the wire rod generally in a plane, separating loops of the wire rod by moving at least one loop out of the said plane and making a portion of the loop of the wire rod moved out of said plane accessible for cutting, and cutting the wire rod. The cutting of the wire rod may occur at the portion of wire connecting the loops preceding and the loop following the point of cutting.

According to the invention there is provided a device for cutting wire rod which has been load in loops comprising means for conveying the wire rod generally in a plane, means located along the path of the means for conveying, for separating loops of the wire rod by moving at least one loop out of the said plane and making a portion of the wire rod moved out of said plane accessible for cutting, and means for cutting the wire rod.

The means for separating may comprise means for raising the wire rod above said plane located at a point downstream of the means for cutting or may comprise means for lowering the loops of wire rod below said plane at a point upstream of the means for cutting.

The loops upstream of the means for separating are collected together because of the movement of the conveyor, so that the required gap is formed in the series of loops at the location of the means for cutting in the wire rod. This occurs advantageously at the end of the conveyor so that the structure of the loops of wire rod, which is caused by the rate of colling, is no longer influenced by the collecting together of some of the loops. At the means for separating on the conveyor of the loops of wire rod, if of a magnetic material, are sufficiently cooled to exhibit magneticproperties. Hence the raising and retaining device on the conveyor is preferably constituted by magnets which may be selectively energized and deenergized. These magnets should be arranged so that their height may be adjusted as this enables them to be lowered onto the loops of wire rod, i.e. brought into contact with the loops of wire rod, and their maximum lifting power to come into effect after the magnets have been energized.

In an alternative arrangement in which magnets are not used, the conveyor of the invention may be angled or bent downwards at least at one location so that the first loop of wire rod of two succeeding loops passing over the angle is dropped relatively to the following loop. This enables a hook to be used as a retaining member for the loop of wire rod following a cut and to be moved between the following loop and the first loop as these two loops of wire rod immediately adjacent the cut are conveyed over the angle in the conveyor.

According to a further feature of the invention, when the loop of wire rod which precedes the cut and the loop of wire rod which follows the cut are connected together, the rod joining these two rings is severed. This is effected by means of a shear which may be of the simple pincer type or a shear having blades moved parallel to each other. ln the case of the pincertype shear, open blade is, according to the invention, fixed and arranged parallel to the direction of movement of the loops of wire rod and to the side of the series of loops, while the second blade is located in a lever which in turn is pivotally mounted to the side of the series of loops of wire rod and when in the position in which it is at right angles to the series of loops extends over the whole series of loops. According to the invention, this lever arm should extend over the series of loops so that when it is moved between the two loops of wire rod which are lifted apart, it reaches the portion of wire rod which joins these two loops. This portion thus comes to rest against the lever arm or slides along the lever arm as the latter effects its pivotal movement until the lever arm has been moved to the edge of the series of loops and the said portion is located between the fixed blade and the blade carried by the said lever arm. The lever arm is then pivoted further in order to cause the blades to cut through the said length of rod. After the cut has been effected, the lever ann pivots back into its initial position while the magnets or hooks hold the loop of wire rod following the cut until the desired gap has been produced in the series of loops. The hook is then pivoted back or the magnets deenergized.

In the case of the shear having two blades moved in parallel, the arrangement may also be such that one of the blades is flexed so as to be parallel to the direction of transport of the loops of wire rod and to the side of the series of wire rod loops, while the blade carrier of the second, moving blade is of a length at least equal to the diameter of the wire rod loops so that the length of wire rod connecting the two loops immediately adjacent the cut, which it is desired to sever, comes to rest, as before in the case of the pincer shear, against this blade carrier, slides also and is severed when the said blade carrier is moved on. Moreover, according to the invention it is also possible to make the pincer shear and the shear having blades moved parallel to each other movable transversely to the direction of movement and/or'in the direction of movement of the conveyor. In order to ensure their movement in the direction of movement of the conveyor, the shears may be arranged in the pivoting hook. The fact that these shears are arranged so as to be movable ensures that the blades or their carriers remain away from the region in which the loops of wire rod are being conveyed while the shears are not in operatron.

The invention will not be further described, by way of example, with reference. to the accompanying drawings of one embodiment of the invention ,of whicI-I;

FIG. I shows a conveyor belt serving as the conveyor and having a raising and retaining device according to the invention and serving also as a cutting device;

FIG. 2 shows a top plan view of the device shown in FIG. I;

FIG. 3 shows the cutting device of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 shows a general view of a plant of the type shown in FIGS. II to 3, without the cutting device;

FIG. 5 shows a modified form of cutting device;

FIG. 6 shows a conveyor designed to lower the rings of wire rod, with its retaining and cutting device;

FIG. 7 shows the device of FIG. 6 in a front view; and

FIG. 8 shows a control system for the device shown in FIGS. 1 to 7.

A conveyor, in this case a conveyor belt I, conveys wire rod still at or near boiling temperature to a gathering location, in this case a mandrel B, as shown in FIG. 41. The rod at rolling temperature has been laid by a reeler A of the Edenborn type in loops W on the receiving end of conveyor belt I, while the loops of wire rod W drop from the discharge end of belt I onto the mandrel B. The wire rod loops W lie spread out and laterally extended, i.e. one following the other and overlapping and at a varying distance from a line parallel to the direction of travel of the conveyor belt 1, on the said conveyor belt, At a point on the conveyor belt I at which the wire rod loops W, which are of magnetic material, have cooled down far enough to have magnetic properties, e.g. immediately before the discharge end of the conveyor belt 1, there are angle levers 2 arranged on either side of the conveyor belt 1. The two angle levers 2 are pivotally mounted on pins 2a, the longitudinal axes of which pins 2a coincide, the pins 2a being in turn mounted in the base frame of the conveyor belt I. In addition, the angle levers 2 are acted upon by a hydraulic piston 2c pivotally mounted in the base frame of the conveyor belt 1. The crosspiece 2b carries magnets 2d which may be energized and deenergized and which are arranged so as to be of adjustable height above the conveyor belt I. At a distance of approximately half the diameter of a wire rod loop W from the longitudinal axes of the pins 2a there is located, to the side of the wire rod loops W located in a line on the conveyor belt, the point of articulation 3 of a pincer-type shear, one blade 30 of which constitutes one arm of the pincer and is fixed in position in a blade carrier 3b to the side of and above the loops of wire rod W which are located in a line on the conveyor belt I while the other blade 30 constitutes the other arm of the pincer and is carried by a pivotally mounted lever 3d, the axis of pivot of which extends vertically to the plane of transport of the wire rod loops W and through the point of articulation 3. The arm of the lever 3d which carries the blade 3c extends in its initial position, i.e. in the position in which it is located transversely to the direction of movement of the wire rod loops W, over the series of loops W; the lever 3d is actuated by a hydraulic piston 3e.

During the operation, when the conveyor belt 1 conveys the loops of wire rod W at a constant speed below the magnets 2d and the blade 3d, the magnets are lowered, by he influence of the hydraulic piston 2c, at certain intervals which are determined by the weight of the coil of wire rod which it is desired to form on the mandrel B and which may be determined by means of a time-lag relay, onto the wire rod loops W, energized and raised again. When the magnets 2d are raised, the loops of wire rod W adhering to the magnets 2d are likewise raised so that the arm of the lever 3d which carries the blade 30 may be pivoted between the raised loops W and the loops W lying on the conveyor belt I by actuation of the hydraulic piston 3e so as to cut the length of wire rod connecting the raised loops of wire rod W with the loops of wire rod W lying on the conveyor belt, between the blades 3a and 3 c. Assuming identical operating conditions, this always occurs at the same place on the blades 3c, 3c, in the embodiment shown at the height of the mounting of the angle lever 2, so that the blades 3a, 3c only require a short cutting length. Moreover, the blade carrier 3b is provided with a guide 3f which absorbs the chewing pressure" produced by the cutting action of the blades 30, 3c. To this end, the lever 311 is provided with a guide surface 3g by means of which the lever 3d abuts in the guide 3f during the cutting action of the blades 3a, 30.

As shown in FIG. 4, only magnets 2d are provided to increase the gap between loops of wire rod, whichwire rod is produced by rolling from billets. The hydraulic piston 20 is actuated by an operating means in such a manner that the magnets 2d only raise the wire rod loops produced from the second of two billets which are reduced to wire rod gauge one immediately after the other and laid in loops on the conveyor, the said magnets holding these loops until the desired gap has been formed between the last loop of the first billet and the first loop of the second one. In an alternate construction of the invention, according to FIG. 5, the pincer-type shear is replaced by a shear 6 having blades 6a and 6b moved parallel to each other. Here the blade 6b and its carrier are movable in guides 60 above the conveyor and towards the blade 60 which itself is arranged to one side and above the series of loops of wire rod and is fixed in position. The drive for the carrier of the blade 6b is provided by a hydraulic piston 6d mounted in the housing of the shear 6. The whole shear 6 is, moreover, slidable in further guides be in the direction of movement of the conveyor 1, so that the blades 6a and 6b may be positioned exactly at the point at which the wire rod loops w immediately adjacent the cut in the series of loops of wire rod on the conveyor are raised apart and the wire rod connecting the said loops is to be cut through. This is effected in the same manner as in the case of the pincer shear shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. The blade carrier for the blade 6b is at least equal in length to the radius of the loops of wire rod W.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, there is a point la in the conveyor where the foremost loop of two loops of wire rod W-as viewed in the direction of travel of the conveyoris lowered. This lowering may be effected, for example by providing an angle or bend in the conveyor or, as is shown in dotted lines in the figure, by means of two conveyor belts arranged at different heights and cooperating with each other, or by sections of the conveyor so arranged. It is then possible to move a hook 7, which is pivotally mounted in a frame 8 above the conveyor and which is driven by a hydraulic piston 7a, between the two loops of wire rod W which have thus been raised apart. This is advantageously effected when the point of severance of the series of loops of wire rod is located at the point lla, i.e. when the wire rod loops W immediately adjacent the point of severance are conveyed over the point la. The hook 7a then grips loop loop of wire rod W which follows the cut and holds it so that the loops of wire rod W following the loop thus held are pushed one into the other while those which preceded it are conveyed on the conveyor. A gap-of any desired size is thus produced between the loops of wire rod W immediately adjacent the cut. When this gap has reached the desired size, the hook 7 is pivoted back by means of the hydraulic lever 7a, i.e., the loops of wire rod which follow the cut are released and can be moved onward by the conveyor. The hook 7 also contains a shear with a fixed lower blade 7b and an upper blade 70 which is able to move in parallel with the lower blade 7b and is driven by a hydraulic piston 7d In addition, the hook 7 carries a stop member 72, against which the loop of wire rod W following the cut comes to rest when the hook grips the said loop W. The stop member 74: is so arranged that the loop of wire rod W which abuts thereagainst at the same time lies between the blades 71; and 7c and may be severed from the preceding wire rod loop by actuation of the hydraulic piston 7d, when these two loops are connected together. The severing operation of the blades 7d and 7c also initiates the spacing at the location of the cut. The loop of wire rod which abuts against thisstop As shown in FIG. 8, an infrared detector 9 is located, as

viewed in the direction of movement of the conveyor, directly after the location la or the magnets 2d, and makes contact so as to cause actuation of the hook 7 or the magnets 2d when the beginning of a gap in the series of wire rod loops is located adjacent the detector 9, the said gap being located between the length of wire rod or between the loops of wire rod formed from two billets rolled on after the other and it being desired to increase the size of the said gap. To this end, a second infrared detector is located, as viewed in the direction of movement of the conveyor, before the detector 9, at a distance which is greater than the maximum gap occurring between the length of wire rod. The detector 10 registers the individual loops W of wire rod and, when a certain distance between the loops is exceeded, issues a command to the detector 9 which actuates the magnets 2d or the hook 7 after the appropriate gap commencement has been registered. If the embodiment, where the normal gap between loops is between and 50 mm,, the detector 10 issues a command to the detector 9 when the gap between loops is 200 mm. or when the time interval between two loops W of wire rod is equivalent thereto. Since each loop of wire rod W is registered by the detector 10 twice, a barrier is provided on the detector 10 and erases the second recording of a wire rod loop W when this occurs without the intervening registration of another loop of wire rod after the first registration. The barrier is composed of a timing member which erases a second registration when this registration occurs at an interval of time which corresponds to a certain loop diameter and remain constant for identical operating conditions. This prevents the magnets 2d and the hook 7, which do not operate after the necessary gap has been formed, form being actuated between the first registration of a loop of wire rod W and the first registration of the following loop W, i.e. the detector 10 is prevented from issuing two commands in this case.

What we claim is:

1. A method of cutting wire rod which has been laid in loops, comprising conveying the wire rod generally in a plane, separating loops of the wire rod by raising at least one loop above said plane and making a portion of the wire rod raised out of said plane accessible for cutting, and cutting the wire rod upstream of the point at which said at least one loop is raised above said plane.

2. A device for cutting wire rod which has been laid in loops, comprising means for conveying the wire rod generally in a plane, means located along the path of the means for conveying for separating loops of the wire rod by raising at least one loop above the said plane and making a portion of the wire rod raised out of said plane accessible for cutting, and means for cutting the wire rod upstream of said means of separating.

3. A device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the wire rod comprises material having magnetic properties, the means for separating comprises at least one magnet, which can be moved into and out of said plane and can be magnetized and demagnetized, and the device being arranged so that a loop of wire rod is at a temperature at which it is magnetic when said loop is locate for being raised by the magnet.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the or each magnet is arranged above the means of conveying so as to be of adjustable height.

5. A method of cutting wire rod which has been laid in loops, comprising conveying the wire rod generally in a plane, separating loops of the wire rod by lowering at least one loop below said plane and making a portion of the wire rod lowered out of said plane accessible for cutting, and cutting the lowered wire rod downstream of the point at which said at least one loop is lowered below said plane.

6. A device for cutting wire rod which has been laid in loops comprising means for conveyin the wire rod generally In a plane, means located along the pat of the means for conveying for separating loops of the wire rod by lowering at least one loop below said plane and making a portion of the wire rod lowered below said plane accessible for cutting, and means for cutting the wire rod downstream of said means for separating.

7. A device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the means for lowering comprises inclined means for conveying loops of the wire rod downwardly below said plane and the separating means further comprises means for engaging a portion of the wire rod which has been lowered, whereby the loop of wire rod upstream of the means for cutting passes down the inclined means for conveying so as to be lower relative to the following loop and so that the means for engaging the portion of said following loop.

8. A device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the means for engaging comprises a hook-shaped member. 

1. A method of cutting wire rod which has been laid in loops, comprising conveying the wire rod generally in a plane, separating loops of the wire rod by raising at least one loop above said plane and making a portion of the wire rod raised out of said plane accessible for cutting, and cutting the wire rod upstream of the point at which said at least one loop is raised above said plane.
 2. A device for cutting wire rod which has been laid in loops, comprising means for conveying the wire rod generally in a plane, means located along the path of the means for conveying for separating loops of the wire rod by raising at least one loop above the said plane and making a portion of the wire rod raised out of said plane accessible for cutting, and means for cutting the wire rod upstream of said means of separating.
 3. A device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the wire rod comprises material having magnetic properties, the means for separating comprises at least one magnet, which can be moved into and out of said plane and can be magnetized and demagnetized, and the device being arranged so that a loop of wire rod is at a temperature at which it is magnetic when said loop is locate for being raised by the magnet.
 4. A device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the or each magnet is arranged above the means of conveying so as to be of adjustable height.
 5. A method of cutting wire rod which has been laid in loops, comprising conveying the wire rod generally in a plane, separating loops of the wire rod by lowering at least one loop below said plane and making a portion of the wire rod lowered out of said plane accessible for cutting, and cutting the lowered wire rod downstream of the point at which said at least one loop is lowered below said plane.
 6. A device for cutting wire rod which has been laid in loops, comprising means for conveying the wire rod generally in a plane, means located along the path of the means for conveying for separating loops of the wire rod by lowering at least one loop below said plane and making a portion of the wire rod lowered below said plane accessible for cutting, and means for cutting the wire rod downstream of said means for separating.
 7. A device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the means for lowering comprises inclined means for conveying loops of the wire rod downwardly below said plane and the separating means further comprises means for engaging a portion of the wire rod which has been lowered, whereby the loop of wire rod upstream of the means for cutting passes down the inclined means for conveying so as to be lower relative to the following loop and so that the means for engaging the portion of said following loop.
 8. A device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the means for engaging comprises a hook-shaped member. 